Following its long time agitation for power to return to the region, in view of the rotational presidency agreement in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Northern Nigeria has resolved to dump PDP for All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 Presidential election.
The development is in reaction to the recent adoption of the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP as the sole presidential candidate of the party in 2015, against the presidential ambition of other party members from the North.
Aside being aggrieved over the apparently dead zoning arrangement of the ruling party, the North had consistently considered President Jonathan incapable of ruling the country, using the security challenges bedevilling the country and northern region in particular as a case study.
Prominent northern leaders who spoke to our Correspondent stated that since the PDP has shut it doors against the North by adopting President Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate, the region has no alternative but to ensure that the ruling party is defeated at the national level in the 2015 general elections.
Spokesman of the prominent Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said: “Now, that the PDP has again shut its door against the North, obviously it makes more sense for the North to fight back and ensure that PDP loses this election at the federal level.”
According to the professor, “We have said that, we would be working for the return of leadership to the North on the grounds of fairness, equity and justice initially, thinking that the PDP, when it adopted the zoning policy, would live with this policy and respect it. But from all indications, from 2007 up to this particular point in time, the PDP has reneged on the zoning policy.
“As far as the North is concerned, it is not asking for power simply because it wants power. The argument has always been what is equitable and what is just. I was once a member of the PDP at the top level and I was aware of everything that transpired on this power rotation arrangement between the North and the South. The South had its turn of eight years and the North was expecting that it was going to have its own turn of eight years.
“Reluctantly, they agreed that Umaru Yar’adua should come on board and he did come on board and died after three years. So, it makes sensible and logical gesture for the PDP to say, ‘Well, the North has not had its eight years, it had three. One was lost to the Vice President because the constitution said so. So, the remaining fours years, starting from 2011, would sensibly have been conceded to the North, but that was not done.
“And the PDP powers who felt they could do whatever they want and they could disregard the law from court and the constitution of their own political party insisted that Jonathan should run in 2011 and I think with the connivance of some Northerners, mainly the governors who sold out.
“So, our grounds are not wanting power just because we want power, it is recognition of equity, justice and fairness.
“Now that the PDP has again shut its door against the North, obviously it makes more sense for the North to fight back and ensure that PDP loses this election at the federal level.
“Don’t worry about how many aspirants APC has, so long as a northerner will emerge, we will support him. There is no problem at all.
“If you are observant, you would have seen a document yesterday which was planted in a national daily, prepared by Research Integrity in Lagos. The report made interesting reading. It was very clear that Jonathan is not even in the third or fourth position in terms of national survey, as to who is the best candidate for Nigeria in 2015. Across the nation, the man was not even rated even 10th.
“So, the issue has shifted from resistance from the North, but resistance from the entire country, that the man is not fit to remain in office after 2015. So, the North has no problem with any of the aspirants that emerges from their primaries in the APC.
“First of all, we support the primaries because the primaries are indications of democracy. But you could see what has happened in the PDP; they shut everybody out against their will and they don’t have the will to fight back. “So, the APC should respect its constitution in terms of how candidates emerge from local government up to the Presidency. If they respect their constitution and carry out their primaries openly, fairly and transparently, they should have no problem of acceptance of the candidate that emerges as winner. So, from that point on, everybody’s hands should be on deck.” Similarly, the mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), said it was waiting for the outcome of APC’s primaries to decide who to support, but the body language of the forum is that it will support PDP’s candidate. Chairman of the ACF, IGP Ibraheem Coomasie (rtd) told our correspondent in a telephone interview: “Well, it is not yet time to disclose our plan ‘B’. But I believe you saw our open letter to Mr. President recently, where we raised issues concerning the security and economic challenges of the North. They have refused to reply to that letter. Instead, they have been very busy attacking ACF. “We are talking about what is happening; killings every now and then, but government has refused to do anything. Now, even after our letter, Kano was bombed again, several people were killed. They killed people in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State. So, what is the purpose of government in the constitution? It is simply security and welfare of the people. “So, as for the Plan ‘B’ of the North, we will keep it to ourselves. We don’t disclose it now; not until all the political parties bring out their candidates. “Let the opposition party bring out somebody first, because it is the duty of the political parties to do their primaries and bring out their candidate. It is then that we will know who to support.” A coalition of northern youths under the auspices of Arewa Youth Leaders on Thursday rose from an emergency meeting in Kaduna to condemn the adoption of President Jonathan by the PDP, against the zoning principle. The youths declared that power must return to the North and North- East in particular, noting that even in the North, the North-East is the only zone that has been marginalised after the demise of the late Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, in 1966. The youths in a communique issued at the end of the meeting said: “It is very disheartening that within the PDP, some northerners with presidential credentials whom it was strongly believed would give a shot at the presidency to provide credible alternative leadership seems to be reneging due to a subterfuge/staged managed arrangement of endorsing the incumbent.” The communique jointly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Communique Drafting Committee, Musa Adamu and Alex Moses respectively, stated further: “The PDP’s adoption defeats the essence of democracy and it amounts to jettisoning the privilege and advantage position due to the north and the succour to be brought to Nigerians. “In the spirit of developing our nascent democracy and giving sense of belonging to all, rotational leadership at all levels in the country should be encouraged. In this context, there is need for power to shift to the North and North-East in particular, having been in limbo after the brutal demise of the late Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in 1966. “Again, when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerged as Vice President in 1999 under the platform of PDP, the process of transiting him to a substantive President in 2007 was unduly suffocated by presidential abuse of power. “The leadership or presidency of this country must speedily move from trial and error to decisiveness and absolute display of informed decisions and political will in order to secure the future of its citizens. “The choice of the right person for the job should be centred around experience, integrity, liberal disposition, courage, pure civilian with democratic credentials, etc and this is where the former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Turakin Adamawa, takes the lead among other distinguished gentlemen.” The youths also expressed dismay over the grave insecurity and diminishing quality leadership in the country, saying, this is affecting all aspects of national life, which must be halted immediately.
A former Federal lawmaker and prominent voice from the North, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, declined speaking for the North on its next line of action. He said it is time for the North to speak for itself and turn themselves away from the PDP.
According to him, “the North has had nothing from the PDP except wholesale and retail tragedy, de-industrialisation, marginalisation and economic warfare as well as total destruction of the North-East, which is a very important part of the North itself.
“As for me, I have never belonged to the PDP and I don’t believe in the zoning or rotation from the days of my political career from the NPN down to 1999. It would be much more appropriate to ask those opportunist governors, who believed, somehow, they can salvage the north or they can protect themselves and their ill-gotten wealth by belonging to the PDP about their plan ‘B’.
“I also don’t believe it is the business of the other Nigerians to simply come to the aide of the North, because the north itself shot itself on the foot by going to vote for the PDP. Now, the North is learning the hard way. You do not to go into agreement with dishonourable people. Because, such an agreement will always boomerang because democracy is first of all, a game of number. It is those who have the number that will always carry th day.
“If the North is willing and ready to talk to other Nigerians, fine, but we must know that democracy system is not built this way and you don’t embark on nation building this way, because everything now is built on lies, on opportunism, on you chop, I chop basis. Now that is has collapsed, they can go back to the drawing board and start afresh and see whether we can begin to have elite, political, binding consensus, without which no nation can be built.”
In his own view, former ACF Spokesman and Northern leader in the just concluded National Conference, Anthony Sani, said: “The problems some Nigerians have with the adoption of President Jonathan as the PDP presidential candidate is that such adoption does not promote internal democracy within political parties, leading to some form of party dictatorship. I say this because the party members have been short-changed by the exercise.
“I pray PDP knows it is the ruling party and that its place in the order of things is to provide order and direction in the polity, whether by way of lodestar or bellwether,” he said.
On the plan ‘B’ of the North, Sani opined that, politics of power shift and rotation died in 2011 when Nigerians voted President Jonathan against existing arrangement, which was actually espoused by the South.
According to him, “Politics of power shift or rotation died in 2011 when Nigerians voted President Jonathan against existing arrangement, which was actually espoused by the South. So, the media would not be promoting national unity when it gives regional coloration to almost everything under the sun.
“As democrats, northerners have accepted that politics of identity be supplanted by democracy proper.
“When you say northerners are agitating for power to return to the North, the impression is that power is meant for the North. This is wrong because by 2015, the South will have ruled for 14 of the 16 years of democracy from 1999. You also forget that military regimes were run by junta that represented the military that cut across regional boundaries.
“I therefore believe candidates from the North will go round the country and present themselves to Nigeria as to why Nigerians should vote them and not the incumbent. They will do so as Nigerians and not because power must return to the north or because the incumbent is from the South.”
